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Chaos Group releases Phoenix FD 3.0 for Maya

Originally posted on 9 December 2016. Scroll down for news of the commercial release.

Chaos Group has released Phoenix FD 3.0 for Maya, the latest update to its fluid simulation software, in beta.

The update adds a new FLIP solver for liquids, revamps the existing gaseous fluids solver to generate more naturally rolling fire and smoke, and adds a set of new forces to make simulations more directable.

Most, if not all, of the same new features as Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max
To judge from the software’s product page on Chaos Group’s website, the new features in Phoenix FD 3.0 for Maya are pretty much identical to that of the 3ds Max edition, which was released back in September.

(The only difference is that the Maya product page doesn’t list the 3ds Max edition’s improved preview functionality, which enables users to see a GPU preview of simulation directly in the viewport.)

We wrote about the other new features in detail in our original story on Phoenix FD 3.0 for 3ds Max, so check that out for more information on what they offer.

Updated 10 March 2017: Phoenix FD 3.0 for Maya is now shipping. The software is available for 64-bit Maya 2014 and above, running on Windows Vista and above or Fedora Core 5 Linux and above.

Updated 15 March: Chaos Group has supplied more information about the need for V-Ray for Maya.

They told us: “Phoenix FD users can simulate without a V-Ray license (they can use the demo, for instance), but they will need it installed on the machine to run/render with Phoenix FD 3 for Maya. If V-Ray is installed, it will also help speed up texture sampling if a Phoenix sim uses any textures.”

Pricing and availability
A floating workstation license costs $830 – down $130 from the previous release – and includes one free floating simulation license. Extra simulation licenses cost $210. The update is free to users of version 2.x.